Capt to resume programme at Pathankot

After a short break, Punjab congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh is resuming his ‘Coffee with Captain’ programme; this time having it with ex-servicemen at Pathankot soon.

Coffee with Captain is an outreach programme by Singh and designed by poll strategist Prashant Kishor to counter former CM’s image of an ‘inaccessible’ politician by making him interact with select audience over coffee. Four such events targeting urban youth were held at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mohali and Patiala between March and April; before Singh left for abroad. He is back and ready to hit the campaign ground. Pathankot as the venue for coffee session was chosen after considerable discussion.

Seven security personnel had lost their lives in terrorist attack at the Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2 and it is also a stronghold of Akalis.

“Every other person in Punjab knows the links between terrorists and drug racket that flourished under present regime. Captain will connect with ex-servicemen and speak to them about such issues,” a source told HT. An ex servicemen himself, Singh participated in the 1965 war.

It will be an hour-long interaction where Captain will take questions from ex-servicemen on issues ranging from terror attack to OROP, Healthcare and Army Canteen related issues etc will be raised. Kishor led I-PAC, which is assisting the Congress with its campaign strategies, has reached out to ex-servicemen in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshairpur, Kapurthala, Taran Taran and Amritsar. Punjab has a sizable number of ex servicemen and influence outcome of about three dozen constituencies.

Similar coffee with captain programme are being planned with different sections of society.

Stung by Singh’s agressive outreach programme, the AAP has also launched “Bolda Punjab Dialogue’ to reach out to youths. Captain’s campaign team however remained unfazed.